funny, haha? or funny, crazy?

You decide!
You don't have to decide right now. But later. Much, much later. No pressure.
So,there are two things you should know about me. Okay, maybe you shouldn't know these things. It's not life altering information, and knowing these things may or may not change how you view me as a person, friend, wife, mom, and teacher. You see, I'm pretty normal. A 'blend in' kinda gal. But some things are just different about me. Some people, people that don't know me well, have said I'm a little dramatic. I have no idea where they would come up with such an outlandish idea. Me? Dramatic? Hmm. Okay, maybe a little dramatic. But aren't we all? Just a little? Admit it. You know I'm not alone in this. 
Anyway, as I was saying, I'm different.  Different in how I parent, how I teach, how I am as a wife, how I cook, how I  garden and raise chickens, how I sew and crochet, how I decorate...or the lack of decorating would be more accurate.  I'm just different.  Not in a bad way, not in a better way, just in my own way.  I work hard to align how I live and love in accordance with Biblical principles.  I do.  But I'm still different. Funny, if you will.  The goal here is to decide if I'm funny, haha, or funny,crazy. 
First up, it is very difficult for me to see a crazy hat and not put it on my head.  I usually try to put in on one of my girls first and they just duck and cover.  "Mommm!" is usually the battle cry against crazy hat modeling in public.  They leave me no choice, you see.  It must be done.  So while we were at Disney World in January...I couldn't NOT put on just  about every hat.  I mean, Epcot...the World Showcase,  there were so many countries and so many hats. But not just there, the gift shops had hats, too.  So here is a sampling of hats that I had to try on, in public, at Disney World, much to the chagrin of my children.  Thankfully, Tim didn't seem to mind.  He was even gracious enough to document each one with a photo!  You can click on the collage to see it larger.  From left to right:  the Mickey umbrella hat, the German alpine hat, Sonic the Hedgehog hat, Chinese hat, silver sequined Minnie ears, Jack Skellington hat, my personal fave-the Chewbacca hat, Canadian moose hat, and Mexican sombrero.  By the end of the trip my family was pretty much immune to the embarrassment, but for some reason, they never joined in on the fun.

Another thing that you may not know about me - again, it's not life changing information - is that I love Japanese stuff.  Being able to spend time in Japan at the World Showcase was really fun.  Everything was so cute.  The stationery- cute, the note cards, erasers, books, toys, figurines.  Just cute.  Even the packaging for snacks was cute.  I mean, really.  The crafty stuff gets me every time.  And the clothes, the traditional kimonos and obis were beautiful and amazing.  My girls were a little amazed by it all, too.  And Tim?  Well, he was very patient and let me look and take pictures with out rushing me or wondering why I was taking pictures of kokeshi dolls or bookmarks.

So now you must decide.  No, you can't put it off.  No, you can't skip this part.  The pressure is officially on.  If you are here on this page and you have read about  my shenanigans, then you are fully informed and must now choose. xoANG

may, already?

I double checked the calendar.  It was not a dream, it really is May.  I did not realize how fast April slipped through my fingers.  With the unseasonably cold weather, the winding down of the school year, and the presumably premature gardening, April escaped me as quickly as those pesky little dandelion seeds that blow through the yard if I even give them a sideways glance. 
So it's May.  For me it begins with bleach and Lysol, because although we made it through the entire winter season without so much as a cold, it seems that during our very last kid-gathering time at church for the season we managed to bring some lovely stomach virus germs. 
You know, when people talk about becoming parents it's all cute baby clothes, stylish strollers, tiny shoes, and teething.  Then, once you get past all of the unsolicited parenting advice, no one ever mentions being up in the middle of the night for hours with this child your brought into the world, holding her hair back and swabbing her forehead with a cool washcloth, all the while trying to keep yourself from heaving.  Yes, it was one of those nights.  And, honestly, as much as I despise that part of being a mom because it makes me anxious and worried, I also love it.  I love knowing that God knows.  He hears my pleas for mercy on this sweet child of mine.  She may be feeling better as I type these words, but I know the reality is that this is likely far from over.  She knows that, too.  So with a joyful heart she sips a drink and nibbles some food and watched a funny show with her sister.  Choosing joy.  That's the ticket.  Choosing joy isn't always easy, that's why it's a choice.  Being miserable is easy, anyone can do that.  But a heart trusting in God's sovereign ways, mercy, and grace...it makes choosing joy easy. 
Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.